Another Chance
by EleanorPalimore
Summary: This is just after Katherine is freed from the tomb, and she takes up residence at the boarding house. Elena and Damon have a heart-to-heart and Stefan briefly appears at the end.


Elena was headed to the Salvatore house. She hoped Katherine was elsewhere; Stefan and Damon had mentioned something about her going with Isobel to retrieve more of her research. She'd never hated someone so much in her life. But the hate was mixed with something else. Envy. Reluctant admiration. Katherine was her own master. She created her own destiny. She was in control, always. She wasn't powerless. She knew what she wanted, she went out and she took it. And now she wanted Stefan. But Elena wasn't about to roll over and give Stefan up. Katherine had tortured _both_ brothers for far too long.

"Daydreaming?" Damon was standing in the foyer when Elena walked inside. Rolling her eyes, she put her bag down by the door. It was second nature now. The Salvatore boarding house was more a home to her than her own house – everything seemed to happen there, and she felt safer around the brothers. She hated that she needed to feel 'safe' at all. She wanted to fight, she wanted to stand up for herself – but she was too weak, compared to the many supernaturals she was surrounded by. She felt helpless – and it was driving her crazy.

"Hey." She turned to Damon. "Where's Stefan?" It was his turn to roll his eyes.

"He's upstairs." She inspected him more closely. She knew he hadn't recovered from Rose's death yet. She could tell. A part of her wondered if he regretted staking Lexi more now he knew how it felt. That thought lashed through her and she instantly felt awful for it.

"How're you doing?" she asked. He looked preoccupied.

"I'm _fine_," he said, drawing out the last word with his customary sarcasm. She raised her eyebrows.

"I don't believe you," she said.

"Believe what you like," Damon said, turning away. He looked impatient now. Elena sighed.

"I'm asking as a friend, Damon. I'm worried about you. Katherine's got to be playing mind games. Don't let her get to you." He turned back, surprised. She folded her arms as sternly as she could.

"Go find Stefan," he said. There was half-hearted malice in his voice; she ignored it.

"Have you learned anything more from Johnathan Gilbert's journals?" she asked.

"Nothing earth-shattering. Your ancestors were boring." For the first time since she'd stepped inside, Damon looked playful. Elena smiled despite herself. She headed to the sofa.

"Well, you two were probably just as boring," she teased, sitting down. She flung her legs across the sofa. Damon joined her, moving her legs to sit down. She draped them across his lap nonchalantly and he made no attempt to move them.

"I guess we were," he said. "Until Katherine came along."

"Let's not talk about her," Elena said, grimacing.

"Let's not talk about my _feelings_, either," he replied, giving her an exasperated look.

"Fine." Elena picked up one of the journals. "Enjoy the silence." Damon smirked and picked up another journal.

"Fine." There followed a few minutes of silence; Elena couldn't gauge the tone of his quietness, but she didn't think he was moody or aggravated.

"Most people would hate you," she said eventually. He glanced up from the journal in astonishment.

"Most people _do_ hate me," he said frankly. His eyes narrowed. "For what?"

"For killing my brother," she told him, turning the page, not looking at him.

"He didn't stay dead," Damon said impatiently, and then sighed. Elena raised both of her eyebrows.

"That's not the point and you _know_ it."

"Well what is the point?" Damon asked, lowering the journal he was holding.

"The point is," Elena said, finally looking up at him, "Is that I _don't_ hate you, as much as I try to. I know why you do the things you do. It doesn't make them okay. But I get it." He seemed to be speechless. She smiled slightly and turned back to the journal. At last, Damon said,

"I deserve your hate."

"Yes. You do." She turned the page again.

"I deserve _his_ hate, as well." She glanced in the direction Damon had indicated; to the stairs.

"Stefan doesn't hate you," Elena said.

"Sometimes he does," Damon said, almost coyly.

"Well, sometimes you do stupid things," Elena said. He rolled his eyes.

"_He's_ not perfect either," he said.

"No one is." She looked at him sharply. "If you want Stefan back – if you want things to be how they were before Katherine – you've got to let the past go. Katherine ruined you both. Don't let her win." She shut the journal. "He's never given up on you, you know. He's always going to give you one more chance, no matter what you do. So why can't you give _yourself_ another chance?" Damon threw the journal back onto the coffee table.

"Maybe I don't deserve another chance," he hissed. "Maybe I don't deserve anything. Did you ever consider that?"

"I don't believe that," Elena said. "Do you believe that? Everyone deserves a chance to make things right." Her cheeks had reddened slightly out of pique. "Don't ever say that, Damon." She realised that she'd sat up straighter, feet on the floor. Damon stood up.

"Unlike my saintly brother," he said angrily, "I'm not looking for absolution." Elena gazed up at him, frustrated.

"Then what _are_ you looking for?" she asked. He whirled around to face her.

"Nothing, Elena. I'm not looking for anything. I'm only here because I don't _have_ anywhere else."

"No." Elena stood up now, really angry. "You're here because this is your _home_. And you're here because you have a family here. Stefan needs you here and you need him. And I need you both." There was a pause. Damon raised his eyebrows and then took a step towards the window. Elena followed him.

"_Family_." He almost spat the word. "Monsters don't have family. They don't deserve them."

"Then you're not a monster." She folded her arms again. "You're only a monster if you act like one, Damon, and you only act like a monster when you think people are expecting you to be one. _But that's not who you really are_." Damon stared at her, his eyes wide, groping for a witty retort. But it wouldn't come. He headed to the drinks to pour himself a bourbon. He could hear her follow, silently demanding a response. He poured his drink and turned to face her.

"What do you want from me, Elena?" he demanded. "What do you want me to say? That I _want_ to deserve a family? To deserve friends? To deserve love? Well, I _do_. I _do_ want to deserve your friendship. But the parts of Damon Salvatore that deserved your friendship died a _long_ time ago." Elena had tears in her eyes. It distracted him; he'd been planning to stride off impressively, but her expression froze him where he stood.

"I think they're still in there," Elena said quietly. "I think you're afraid of letting that Damon out in case it's rejected – again. But it's worth it, Damon. It's worth it." They were stood far too close to one another. He felt the urge to reach out and brush away her tears.

"Only ten minutes ago, you were telling me I deserved to be hated," he pointed out, uncomfortable with the magnitude of emotion she was radiating.

"Can't _both_ be true?" she demanded, wiping her own eyes. "You DO deserve love, Damon. The _real_ Damon deserves love." At that precise moment, Stefan appeared in the doorway. His expression was unfathomable. Damon stared at him, wondering what his brother was thinking. Elena turned, smiled at Stefan. What was _she_ thinking now?

"Isn't it peaceful without Katherine?" Stefan asked Damon, with a slight smirk.

"Always," Damon replied, smiling wryly. Elena gave Damon an appealing look and headed towards Stefan.

"Hopefully she'll stay away," she said grouchily. Stefan put his arms around her.

"Unlikely," he said, smiling down at her. "Are you hungry?" he asked. She nodded.

"Yeah. Do you have anything in?" She didn't wait for an answer; detaching herself, she strode towards the kitchen. Damon met Stefan's gaze reluctantly. His brother was stood, watching him contemplatively – not for the first time, Damon wished he could read Stefan's mind.

"She's not wrong, you know," Stefan said eventually.

"She _would_ know if she's hungry or not," Damon said sarcastically. Stefan rolled his eyes. There was a lot of that going on that afternoon, Damon mused.

"Everyone deserves love," Stefan clarified. "Even you." There was a pause as Damon tried to figure out whether or not to be offended. Stefan was looking at the floor now. "_Especially_ you." Their eyes met again. Damon laughed half-heartedly. "She hurt you more than she ever hurt me, Damon. Elena's right. The brother I lost the day we died? He deserves love. Why is it so hard for you to accept that you might deserve another chance at life?" Damon didn't say anything. Stefan waited for a while before heading into the kitchen after Elena.


End file.
